palindrome

American  

[pal-in-drohm] / ˈpæl ɪnˌdroʊm /

noun

• palindromes
  plural

1. a word, line, verse, number, sentence, etc., reading the same backward as forward, as Madam, I'm Adam or Poor Dan is in a droop.

2. Biochemistry. a region of DNA in which the sequence of nucleotides is identical with an inverted sequence in the complementary strand.

   GAATTC is a palindrome of CTTAAG.

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palindrome British  

/ ˈpælɪnˌdrəʊm, ˌpælɪnˈdrɒmɪk /

noun

1. a word or phrase the letters of which, when taken in reverse order, give the same word or phrase, such as able was I ere I saw Elba

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Usage

What is a palindrome? A palindrome is a word or phrase that can be read the same way backward or forward, as with the words redivider, kayak, and civic. Palindromes are most often used to be creative and have fun with words. You might see them in ads to catch your attention or a creative writing teacher might ask the class to write palindromes to help students think more creatively. In biology, a palindrome describes a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that matches a reverse line. The possible nucleotide combinations are A-T and C-G, and the pairs can match up in any order. Sometimes they line up palindromically, as when CCTAGG matches up with a sequence of GGATCC. Example: One of the most famous palindromes is “Never Odd or Even,” which has the same letters backward and forward.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• palindromist
  noun
• palindromic
  adjective
• palindromical
  adjective
• palindromically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• palindromes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of palindrome

First recorded in 1630–40; from Greek palíndromos “recurring,” equivalent to pálin “back, again” + -dromos “running, race” ( see -drome)

Explanation

“Madam, I’m Adam,” says Adam when he meets a woman for the first time. Not only is Adam polite, he’s also using a palindrome, a word or phrase that can be read the same way either forward or backward. "Racecar," "radar," "stats," "eye," "Mom" — these are examples of palindromes: If you reverse the letters, the words will stay the same. An entire phrase can be a palindrome, like this: "A man, a plan, a canal: Panama." Palindrome comes from a Greek word that means "running back again," which describes the back-and-forth nature of palindromes very well. Here’s a palindrome you can use at parties to impress people: "Go hang a salami, I'm a lasagna hog." It really works!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

palindrome palindromes

"We found that the Y chromosome can exchange genetic information with itself between the repeated sequences of the two palindrome arms, which fold so that the inverted sequences align," Pál said.

From Science Daily ● May 29, 2024

In a rear-view mirror, the kind where one looks to see where one has been, the word tweaks the palindrome genre to spell “live.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2023

When they started selling gas, they named the company Alexela — a palindrome — so that they would have to erect only one sign that could be read by drivers in both directions.

From New York Times ● Aug. 12, 2022

When it's written in the British style, however, it becomes a palindrome.

From Fox News ● Feb. 22, 2022

The closing parenthesis, at the end of the palindrome that was Ruth May.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

The second survival strategy takes advantage of palindromes, where the sequence of letters in the DNA alphabet is followed by the same, but inverted sequence, for example, ACTG-GTCA.

From Science Daily ● May 29, 2024

Like me, Norwich also enjoys palindromes, phrases that read the same backward and forward, e.g.,

From Washington Post ● Dec. 15, 2022

Twosomes into lucky numbers and palindromes two-stepped it to the Old Orange County Courthouse to be wed on 2-22-22.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2022

The other two, on Dec. 11 and Dec. 22, are six-digit palindromes: 12-11-21 and 12-22-21.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 1, 2021

At Mother’s house I recently found my dusty Complete Emily Dickinson with its margins littered shockingly by my old palindromes: Evil deed live! croaked that other Adah, and I wonder, Which evil was it, exactly?

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver